Sensex, Nifty open higher tracking positive global cues

Equity benchmark indices opened with a positive streak on Thursday, tracking gains in Asia after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced prospects of a US interest rate cut later this month.

The gains were more pronounced in metal and pharma stocks. All sectoral indices except for Nifty IT were in the green at the National Stock Exchange.

At 10:15 am, the BSE S & P Sensex was up 143 points at 38,700 while the Nifty 50 gained 50 points to 11,549.

Among stocks, JSW Steel gained 3.5 per cent to Rs 263.90 per share while Tata Steel was up 2.4 per cent to Rs 465.90 apiece. Mining major Vedanta was up 3.1 per cent as Hindalco gained by 2 per cent.

The other major gainers were Dr Reddy, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, ONGC and Zee Entertainment.

However, Tech Mahindra, Titan, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services showed marginal losses.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks rose after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced prospects of a US interest rate cut later this month citing a slowing global economy and trade issues.

Shares climbed across the region with South Korean and Hong Kong stocks outperforming. Japan's Nikkei added 0.4 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI climbed 1 per cent.